So, first off, I must say that I think 2 Million Minutes gives a mixed message. The entire argument is that the American education system is falling behind and that if America wants to remain a world power we have to "step up our game" (so to speak). Throughout the documentary they show the American kids slacking off and the Chinese and Indian kids working their (figurative) tails off. I mean, they open the documentary with Neil (the American boy) saying "Yeah, I , like, never do my homework. I mean, maybe sometimes on the weekend..." or something to that effect. And while this bias is all fine and dandy, in the end, the only kids who got into their first choice for college were the American ones. So I'm just kind of like, "...What are you trying to tell me?" Because that really doesn't drive home the argument the documentary is trying to make.
On the other hand, the other two readings made an argument of some kind and ended in a very clear way. I really liked the I Just Wanna Be Average reading because it was not only well written, but also very concise. And it does tie in a bit to the 2 Million Minutes documentary because Rose, the author, talks about the school system that he went through. He says that students will "float" towards the expectation the teacher sets for them. So if America is setting its expectations low, then obviously we are going to fall behind, just like 2 Million Minutes was saying in the first place.
I agree that the overarching argument is that the we need to "step up or game" but I disagree with this "first choice college" thing. I think its important to note that while the Chinese students maybe did not get into their first choice colleges they got into excellent schools such as Pekings University (Harvard's China) and "China's MIT" I think this shows that by set high expectations for themselves even when they failed they still got into great schools. (comparatively better than the schools US students chose)
ReplyDeleteI agree, how is it that those students did not try very much but ended up going to the college of their choice? I feel as if they only showed one side of the entire argument. What about those students that try really hard but don't get into the college of their choice? What about those students in China and India that don't try at all and also don't do well, because not every student can do amazing.
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